This invention relates to the firearms industry. More particularly, it relates to an improved firearm trigger lock that prevents the lock from being opened without permission.
If one defines the term xe2x80x9cfirearmxe2x80x9d as a weapon held at the shoulder or in the hand and fired by squeezing a trigger, then all pistols (handguns) and rifles are considered firearms. Firearms have certain related features, and the one feature dealt with in this patent centers around the trigger, that little device defined in the dictionary as xe2x80x9ca small lever pressed back by the finger to activate the firing mechanism.xe2x80x9d Many people are severely injured or killed by firearms each year. Efforts have been made to have people register firearms, to take them is out of the reach of children, and to forbid ownership of them altogether. All without apparent success. At present, the most effective means of rendering-firearms safe is to lock the firing mechanism against accidental or unauthorized activation.
One of the most common means of securing the trigger in an inoperative condition is by locking the trigger against movement using a trigger lock. The most popular of these mechanisms is a two-piece xe2x80x9cclamshell-typexe2x80x9d lock where the clamshells engage opposite sides of the trigger and trigger housing, with a shaft or stub passing from one clamshell to the other clamshell behind the trigger and inside the trigger housing to prevent rearward movement of the trigger. Rubber gaskets are located on each clamshell to prevent damage to the firearm. The clamshells are not truly clamshells because they are totally independent from each other instead of being interconnected through a hinge. The clamshells are placed on opposite sides of the trigger housing, (that circular-type piece of metal that surrounds most of the exposed portion of the trigger) and pushed together while the stub extends from one clamshell, behind the trigger and through the trigger housing, into a bore formed in the other clamshell and wherein the stub has a series of teeth formed along one axial path for joinder with a latch, mounted in the bore in the opposite clamshell and having a series of teeth formed thereunder, so that the teeth on the latch and the teeth on the stub engage under bias pressure to lock the two clamshells together about and through the trigger and trigger housing. Once in place, the trigger cannot be moved rearward thus locking the firearm in a safe condition. The lock is unlocked by either inserting a key in the key slot allowing the stub to be turned and rotating the teeth thereon out of engagement with the teeth on the latch or setting a proper combination on lock dials and pressing the lock release thus allowing the two clamshells to be pulled apart.
Recently, it was discovered that many of these clamshell-type trigger locks could be easily removed from a firearm without using a key or the combination. Referring to FIG. 1, it can be seen that screwdriver A, having a narrow diameter shaft B, and a narrow flat blade C, can be inserted between one of two clamshells D and E and the associated rubber gasket G and pushed to extend the blade into contact with the latch. Slight movement, such as twisting of the screwdriver blade, will lift the latch F, as shown in dotted outline, against its bias allowing the teeth to disengage just enough that the two clamshells can be pulled apart. The trigger lock remains in the locked position, however, it is now removed from the firearm allowing the firearm to be discharged upon pulling the trigger.
This invention is an improvement in the traditional clamshell-type trigger lock in order to render it and the firearm on which it is used impervious to unwanted release as described above. The invention comprises means for preventing the partially exposed portion of the latch from contact from outside objects penetrating the lock and otherwise preventing access to the latch. One embodiment of the invention is to impose a cover over top of the latch preventing contact from any object inserted in the lock from above the latch. Another embodiment is to provide the cover and to round off the xe2x80x9cfootxe2x80x9d of the latch to prevent anyone from prying the latch upward from its normally pointed nose at the front of the latch. Another embodiment is to reverse the latch so that it extends into the bore instead of extending from it. A still further embodiment of the invention is to provide a collar, extending from the wall of the bore, that effectively covers the exposed foot of the latch thus preventing contact therewith from any object inserted into the lock from any direction.
Accordingly, the main object of this invention is a means to prevent undesired access to a trigger lock, such as by prying up the latch in the clamshell-type trigger lock and removing the lock from the firearm, so as to use the firearm without permission of the owner. Other objects of the invention include a means for making the lock impenetrable to unauthorized entry; a way to retro-fit a clamshell-type trigger lock to make it far more security-proof than is possible before this invention; a means of safely treating a firearm so that it cannot be used by unauthorized personnel; and, a means of making firearms child-proof.
These and other objects of the invention will become more clear when one reads the following specification, taken together with the drawings that are attached hereto. The scope of protection sought by the inventor may be, gleaned from a fair reading of the Claims that conclude this specification.